Take-up for sewing-machines



(No Model.)

J. M. MERROW.

TAKE-UP FOR SEWING MACHINES. No. 570,135. Patented Oct. 27,1896.

PATENT Prion.

JOSEPH M. MERROV, OF MANSFIELD, CONNECTICUT.

TAKE-UP FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,135, dated October27, 1896.

Application filed January 11, 1894. Serial N'o. 4=96,'o'4l. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. MERROW, of Merrow, in the town ofMansfield, county of Tolland, and State of Connecticut, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Take-Ups for Sewing-Machines; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full,'clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures ofreference marked thereon.

This invention relates particularly to that class of sewing-machineswhich form adouble chain-stitch, employing for the purpose areciprocating eye-pointed needle for carrying a thread through thefabric, and a looper for carrying another thread, the two threads beingenchained or interlooped in the process of sewing. When a reciprocatinglooper is employed for carrying the second or under thread, it causesgreat variation in the tension, at times producing much slackness of thethread and otherwise interfering with its regular delivery in thestitches, and the purpose of my present invention is to provide a meansfor properly taking up and letting out the looper-thread at the propertimes and in the proper quantity to produce perfect stitching, havingthe requisite degree of elasticity and presenting the desired appearanceof the stitches. In addition to these qualities my take-up possesses thefurther advantage that it can be used to good effect at the highestspeeds attainable with machines of this class.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a double-chainsewing-machine with the new take-up applied thereto. Fig. 2 is adetached View of the take-up.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the sameparts.

In illustrating the neW-take-up it has been shown applied in connectionwith a wellknown style of sewing-machine, the construction and operationof which is well understood and does not require explanation furtherthan the statement that the looper trav els in an orbit around theneedle, passing forward on one side to enter the loop of theneedle-thread and swinging laterally so as to return on the oppositeside of the needle, as is common in machines of this class.

The new take-up proper consists, essentially, of a rotarycam ordeflector 1 and two thread-guides 2 3, arranged on opposite sides of thecam in the plane of the latters movement.

The looper-th read 10 after passing through the usual tension devices isconducted through suitable guides, conveniently arranged for thepurpose, to the rear threadguide 2, thence across the face of the cam ordeflector 1 in a plane transverse to its axis to the front guide 3, fromwhich it proceeds to the looper. The cam or deflector is in form anddimensions suited to the movements of the looper, and as the latterreciprocates the cam will operate to alternately take up and let out thelooper-thread by increasing or diminishing the length of threadextending between the two thread-guides, and in this way, by a propermodification in the form of the cam, the character of the stitch can bedetermined and modified; By carrying the looperthread across the face ofthe cam in a plane transverse to its axis the feeding or Withdrawal ofthe thread from the spool or other source of supply is not interferedwith, as there are no very sharp bends on the surface of the cam.Moreover, by carrying the thread across the face of the cam in adirection opposite to the movement of the latter, as indicated by thearrows in Fig. 2, so that the motion of the surface of the take-up isopposed to that of the thread in contact with it, a certain degree oftension is placed upon the looper-thread, sufficient in some cases toobviate the necessity for the use of other tension devices, although thelatter can be employed when desired.

It will also be observed that as the surface of the take-up cam moves ina direction opposed to the feed of the thread it will operate toautomatically draw back the thread lying between the looper and camrather than to draw the thread from the spool, this result being due tothe tension and frictional contact of the thread with the face of thetakeup cam in addition to the increasing radius of the latter.

When, as sometimes occurs, the looperthread is broken, there is apossibility that it may be wound around the take-up cam,

though such accidents are rare. To provide against thiscontingency,abrush 4,preferably of bristles, felt, or other suitablematerial, is placed in position to bear against the face of the cam inorder that it may catch the thread and retain it, thereby preventing itfrom being wound around the cam or any adjacent rotating parts.

As the machine is designed to be run at high rates of speed, acounterbalance should be provided for the cam 1, and this may be doneeither by securing counterbalance- Weights 5 (5, one or more, to theshaft. The counterbalance may be separately applied to the shaft or itmay be formed integral with the take-up cam. As a substitute for thecounterbalance 5 6 for ordinary speeds the take-up cam may be balancedby forming the larger or projection portion lighter, as by forming holestherein, as indicated in Fi 2.

In practice it is preferred to make the irregular surface of thelooper-thread takeup cam parallel to the axis of rotation,instead of atan angle or at various angles, partly on account of the cost ofproduction and partly because of its more satisfactory action for mostpurposes.

For greater convenience of adjustment and manipulation the rearthread-guide support 7 is pivot-ally attached to the frame or a standardand held in position by a spring 8, Which engages a flat portion of thesupport to hold it in position and enables the thread-guide to be turnedup for threading.

The front thread-guide, with its support, is adjustable horizontally andvertica1ly,so that the amount of tal e-up and frictional tension may beadjusted and varied.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In atake-up such as described, the combination With the rotating take-up camand the thread-guides, of the brush contacting with the surface of thecam, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a sewing-machine, such as described, and in combination with thelooper, a takeup comprising the two fixed thread-guides 2 and 3 and therotating take-up cam 1, the latter interposed between the saidthread-guides with its periphery intersecting a vertical plane passingthrough said guides, and its axis substan tially at right angles to thepath traversed by the thread in passing from one threadguide over thesurface of the cam to the opposite thread-guide, one of saidthread-guides (3) being adj ustably secured to its support to regulatethe take-up action of the cam, and the surface of the cam, with whichthe thread contacts, moving in a direction the reverse of the feed ofthe thread, that is to say, from the guide nearest the looper toward theguide more remote from the looper; substantially as described.

3. In combination with the needle and looper, the cam 1, the rearthread-guide 2 pivotally supported and held in adjusted or Workingposition by a spring, and the fixed front guide 3 movably connected toits support so as to vary the length of the looper-thread extendingbetween guides 2 and over cam 1; substantially as described.

JOSEPH M. MERROVV.

Witnesses:

F. A. GRIsWoLD, W. O. GRAHAM.

